The Hochschule Furtwangen University (HFU), formerly the Fachhochschule Furtwangen (FHF – University of applied science Furtwangen) is a German university based in Furtwangen im Schwarzwald, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. As of 2005 it has 3556 students.
The university's International Business Management program is ranked no. 2 by CHE for the employability of its graduates
As far as innovative study programs are concerned, Furtwangen University is also at the forefront: Computer Science in Media and Business Applications of Computer Science, for example, were taught here before anywhere else in Germany. Product Engineering, International Business and Computer Networking are model and pioneering programs, too. Study content and study programs are continuously adjusted to reflect the latest technical and economic developments. Furtwangen University also has a lot to offer when it comes to opportunities for gaining an internationally recognised degree or to study at one of more than 100 partner universities.
Furtwangen University developed from its beginnings as the Großherzoglich Badischen Uhrmacherschule (Archduke of Baden's Clockmakers' School) founded in 1850, and later followed the tradition of the Staatlichen Ingenieurschule für Feinwerktechnik (the state engineers' school for mechatronics) founded in 1947. In 1963 an electronics department was added to the mechatronics school, and, in 1968, computer science was added as the first program of its kind in Germany. In 1971 the well-known "Ingenieurschmiede" (foundry for engineers) developed into the "Fachhochschule Furtwangen". By 2005 "Fachhochschule Furtwangen" changed its name in "Hochschule Furtwangen" due to a new law - the "Landeshochschulgesetz" which unified universities and Fachhochschulen and laid down many new regulations.
Today Furtwangen University offers a broad selection of subject areas: Bachelor (16) and master programs (9) in the areas of computer sciences, technology, engineering, media, and business studies. The top programs of the university are:
Master of Science - Business Consulting (AQUIN accredited) *Best IT & Business Process Consulting Program in Germany"
Executive Master of International Business Management (EMBA)
Master of Business Administration - International Business (MBA)
Master of Business Administration in Sales & Service Engineering
Master of Science - Microsystems Engineering
Master of Science - Advanced Computer Science
Master of Science - Application Architecture
Master of Science - Biomedical Engineering
A first degree can be completed within seven semesters. It includes an internship at a company, as well as a thesis. The students can gain further experience during a study semester abroad at one of more than 100 partner universities worldwide, or within the framework of team-oriented project studies, dealing with current business issues, in close co-operation with business clients.
The master programs offer further perspectives as well as a further qualification, which can be either research- or practically based. The duration of studies will normally be three semesters and can be embarked upon either directly after a suitable first degree, or after a period of gaining professional experience. The HFU offers both full-time and part-time programs.
Strong demand led to the foundation of a second campus in Villingen-Schwenningen. Research and teaching here began in 1988. Currently about 3800 students are enrolled at Furtwangen University (2420 at Campus Furtwangen, 1380 at Campus Villingen-Schwenningen). The total percentage of female students is 28,5 percent, and the share of international students is 13,1 percent.
With the 17 Steinbeis Technology Transfer Centres founded by university professors, Furtwangen University is one of the most active universities in co-operation with industry and business. Additionally the Institute for Applied Research, founded in 1987, with its focus areas of micro-systems, production, surface, environmental, and medical technology through web-based infrastructures and applications to gender research, is an attractive partner for industry, too.
The university's Tele-Akademie, founded in 1995, has acquired an outstanding reputation in the area of target-focused distance learning via internet and video. For supported part-time further education, the Tele-Akademie offers supported distance-learning modules on topics such as tele-learning, computer science, media design and business. Additionally, it is a service provider for all distance learning issues. It offers consulting, quality control, content licensing, and application service provision. In 2001 the German Stiftung Warentest (independent German consumer watchdog organisation) awarded the Tele-Akademie's online courses a much sought-after "Prädikat gut" (for good services).
Famous quotes containing the words university, applied and/or sciences:
“I was now at a university in New York, a professor of existential psychology with the not inconsiderable thesis that magic, dread, and the perception of death were the roots of motivation.”
—Norman Mailer (b. 1923)
“He is not a true man of science who does not bring some sympathy to his studies, and expect to learn something by behavior as well as by application. It is childish to rest in the discovery of mere coincidences, or of partial and extraneous laws. The study of geometry is a petty and idle exercise of the mind, if it is applied to no larger system than the starry one.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“All cultural change reduces itself to a difference of categories. All revolutions, whether in the sciences or world history, occur merely because spirit has changed its categories in order to understand and examine what belongs to it, in order to possess and grasp itself in a truer, deeper, more intimate and unified manner.”
—Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770–1831)